California Assembly Bill 2425, a bill sponsored by Social Compassion in Legislation seeking to address concerns in animal shelters, has been amended to also include regulations on hobbyist dog breeders. The proposal insinuates that people who breed as few as ONE litter are contributing to animal shelter population concerns.
What You Can Do:
Although the bill is not currently scheduled for a hearing in the state Legislature, it is important for those impacted to contact the author’s office and respectfully express your concerns with AB 2425. If you are a constituent, be sure to mention that when contacting his office:
Contact Assemblymember Bill Essayli (Dist. 63 – Riverside County):
- (916) 319-2063; essayli@assembly.ca.gov
Summary:
For the entire bill click here. Some of the key aspects are detailed below:
- Changes the definition of “dog breeder” from selling, transferring, or giving away all or part of 3 or more litters or 20 or more dogs during the preceding 12 months TO 2 or more litters or 10 or more dogs in the preceding 12 months. Depending on the breed, this threshold could impact those who have one litter in a year.
- Requires those meeting the new definition to comply with the state’s consumer protection laws and basic standards of care. While the AKC is NOT opposing the idea that breeders should offer contracts with some consumer protection, or keep their dogs in humane conditions, this new definition indicates a significant shift in who the state believes should be regulated.
- Many cities and counties in California use the state definition as a guideline when developing their breeder regulations
- This new definition also opens the door to future legislation further impacting hobby breeders
- Requires those meeting this definition to microchip all dogs by 8 weeks of age and requires the breeder to register the new owner’s name and contact information with the microchip registry.
- Requires that no dog may be sold or transferred by a breeder unless it has been “immunized against common diseases and has a documented health check from a licensed veterinarian.” AKC is asking for clarification, as not all vaccines are safe or appropriate for a dog sold at 8 weeks of age.
- Requires the Department of Food and Agriculture to conduct a study concerning the state of animal shelters in California.
Talking Points
- Large scale dog breeding is already regulated in California. Broadening the definition of dog breeding will only serve to constrain enforcement resources with new targets on small-scale hobbyist dog breeding.
- Purebred dog enthusiasts and hobby breeders, as this bill seeks to regulate, are not the cause of shelter overcrowding.
- Further limiting the choices of Californians to select the dog of their choice will likely result in many people obtaining dogs that do not work for their families—and many of these dogs will end up back in the animal shelter system.
- The California Penal Code already holds accountable those who deprive animals of necessary sustenance or shelter and subject animals to needless suffering. These laws apply to all dog owners – including hobby breeders. It is not necessary to expand the definition in order to ensure dogs raised by hobbyists are protected.
- Ask that the animal shelter study be conducted BEFORE any new regulations are enacted. Since the sponsor and author are both stating the purpose of this bill is to address shelter population concerns, the study should be the first step, rather than assuming that breeders are contributing to these issues.
AKC Government Relations continues to monitor bills in California impacting dog owners and will provide updates. For questions or more information, contact AKC GR at doglaw@akc.org.